How did I evaluate my success as an architect?

During an after-work meeting with some dear colleagues, one asked, "How can we define our success?"

People started throwing answers like: by the customer's happiness, by listing the greatest achievements, the metrics hit, by the completed tasks and goals, the career evolution or even by the gain accumulated.

Unsurprisingly, I was unsatisfied. These answers looked more like a standard pitch to succeed in an interview rather than deep thoughts.

In my opinion, one's success can't be measured only by corporate expectations; a career can't be measured only by goals, achievements or accumulated wealth; a professional can't be successful only by positive feedback or customer satisfaction.

And what about Architects, as the disgraced-and-always-blamed people in an organization?

How can they measure their successes, especially since they only provide listening, more questions and rarely one option?

As an architect, you design for the present with an awareness of the past, for a future which is essentially unknown
-- Norman Foster

Being an INTJ, I dived into my past experiences and tried to understand what made me feel successful or unsuccessful in my missions.

Spoiler alert: it’s not about counting how many pats on the back I’ve received.

Here’s what I found:

Impact

- How much change am I providing?
- How much notoriety do I have?  

Growth

- How much of my skills/experience did I use?
- How many new skills/knowledge did I learn?

Well-being

- How much fun per unit of time? 
- Am I good with my peers?

Let's dive ...

Impact

Impact is comparable to the splash created when you jump into a pool. The larger the impact, the more visible you become. As architects, our influence is evident in the transformations we create and the opposition we face during the process. The greater the change, the more opposition you are expected to encounter. Are we just tweaking things here and there, or are we driving significant transformation?

Recall that moment when your unconventional suggestion was met with silence and resistance? Yes, that was the act of opposition. However, their resistance indicated that your idea was powerful enough to disrupt the existing situation.

Another way to gauge impact is through notoriety. No, not the 'influencers' kind, but the kind where people recognize your contributions. Have you ever walked into a meeting and people listened to what you say even if you are very silent? That’s notoriety. It means your work and knowledge speak for themselves, and people are aware of your contributions.

Growth

Growth is a double-edged sword. On one side, it’s about how much of your existing skills and experience you’ve used. On the other side, it’s about how many new skills you’ve acquired.

Think back to your last big project. Did you find yourself pulling out tricks from your old playbook, or were you learning new moves? Both are essential. Using your knowledge is important, but growing means stepping out of your comfort zone.

Take my last project, I was diving deep into a cloud architecture, a realm I'd dabbled in before. Sure, I was leveraging my existing skills, but facing poor quality and unstable delivery, a product with a very rigid design and a large fleet of production environments that are hard to update without crashes, it was hard to rely on my old learnings to be able to overcome the challenge. However, I saw this as an opportunity to learn and think about new strategies and methodologies and work more on lobbying for change rather than pointing out the failures. That expanded my expertise, marking a step forward in my growth as an architect.

Well-being

Well-being might seem like a soft measure, people tend to see it as the personal vs professional life balance. But I can say it’s also about the fun you are having and how smooth your relationship with peers is. Honestly, if you’re not enjoying your work, it’s hard to call it a success. Remember that project where you laughed more than you groaned? The one where your team felt like a well-oiled machine rather than a collection of rusty parts? That’s also well-being.

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.

-- Albert Schweitzer

Consider your daily interactions with colleagues. Are you greeted with smiles or scowls? Do people seek your advice, or do they reject every idea and advice you provide, do they avoid you? Good work relationships are about not feeling that you are just cogs in a machine, but that you are recognized as important members of a community.

Final thought

In the end, being a successful architect isn’t just about meeting KPIs or pleasing clients; It's not about ticking boxes on a corporate checklist. A quote crossed my mind when I tried to define my success :

Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.

-- Arthur Ashe

If you find yourself doubting your success, ask yourself: Am I driving real change? Am I constantly learning and growing? Am I enjoying the ride and building meaningful connections? If the answer is yes, then, my friend, you are successful. Because at the end of the day, it's not just about being successful—it's about feeling successful.

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